Taylor continued: “I had big shoes to fill when I came in here, and I was really supported well by Matt. He phoned me on a number of occasions.
“We’d already had a decent relationship, he was a coach that I came up against over the last four or five years – he was at various clubs; Bristol, West Ham and obviously Liverpool. I loved my duels on the sidelines with him.
“We both got animated… most of the time him more so than me! But what a guy, you never fell out with him. One of us would hold our hands up and say, ‘I got it wrong.’ And that’s what you want.
“I have to say, he’s the most enjoyable to work with – in the sense of coming up against – in my time in the women’s game. The legacy he has left, as a person firstly, because of the impression he left on the people he worked with at all of his clubs, particularly here at Liverpool. And then obviously his record as a gaffer.
“He took Liverpool to the real heights of the game. The most decorated women’s manager for Liverpool and I think that is only half of the story. The other half is the void he will leave as a person.
“He served all of his clubs really, really well and definitely left an impression. As a person, as a coach, as an employee of a club, that’s what you look for: to try to leave an impression, and you hope it’s a good one. It certainly was with Matt. He left so many memories for people to hold onto.
“Listening to some of the players who played under him, listening to Grace Fisk and the relationship she had with him – signing her first professional contract – and Ashley Hodson, who made so many appearances for Liverpool with Matt, seeing their comments on what he did for them, how they felt, it speaks volumes.”
The club has been mourning Beard’s passing since Saturday, with Sunday’s scheduled WSL fixture for Liverpool at Aston Villa postponed as a result.
Taylor and his squad came together at the AXA Melwood Training Centre on Monday and held a minute’s silence as a mark of respect before their session.